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ina wrote: ↑Mon Aug 17, 2020 2:22 pm
I fear that especially for baked beans it's cheaper buying them...
Not really Ina, provided you grow your own of course.
The cooking in my recipe is for about 30 mins simmering and overnight in a slow cooker, The slow cooker electricity needs is 75 watts, so for 8 hours 600 watts. If the simmering rounds that up to a 1000 Watts, on our (expensive) electricity rate would cost 17c (probably about 15p)
So 2.5 Kg of baked beans fuel cost works out at 2.5p a can
Can you tell I'm a mean old b***er.
Tony
Disclaimer: I almost certainly haven't a clue what I'm talking about.
And of course you ever had to pay for jars/lids, and the beans come free, too...
Some of the tins of stuff in the shops are disgustingly cheap. Beans for 25p, and I saw spaghetti loops for 13 p the other day... (I only looked at the price because our local foodbank specifically requested them to be donated. Yuk. Poor people who have to rely to foodbanks... I always try to donate something reasonably healthy, even if tinned.There was an article I read somewhere recently where they'd interviewed a woman who through no fault of her own suddenly had to rely on foodbanks, and she said they'd never eaten spaghetti loops in their life before, and although she was very grateful that they (one son) were saved from starvation, it was really hard... So much for all that healthy eating campaigning!)
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
Yes, it's a shame local authorities don't do more to encourage things like community gardens or allotments, which might help a lot of folk through times of need and give back a bit of self worth.
I got seriously told off by a friend, a few years back, because I took the list I'd been given at the supermarket door and bought it as read. It listed the store's own brands of pretty much everything. He said buying the "basics" range was cr4p and he'd bought all branded alternatives. I had a think about this and decided I was fine with what I'd bought for a couple of reasons. 1) We'd spent about the same amount but I'd got about three of everything on the list plus a few extras, like sanitary products, to his one of not everything. 2) Although the taste may be not be as good I'm not convinced cheaper brands are less nutritional (if there's much in the way of nutrition in any of these products). Usually a pinch of salt or sugar will make all the difference. I've often bought "cheap" brands of the odd tinned things I use, because they have fewer unpronouncable additives.
None of which alters the fact that people shouldn't be starving in the 2020s!
Maggie
Never doubt that you can change history. You already have. Marge Piercy
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. Anais Nin
Can't speak so much about UK brands but here in the USA brands are typically no better than supermarkets' own labels. They are just much more expensive. My wife and I very rarely buy branded foods unless we know that the manufacturer is donating money or services to specific groups or charities that we also support... but in truth, apart from one or two products (soap, milk, tea, coffee, or rice, for example) we tend to make everything we eat from scratch - and that includes, cheese, tofu, and seitan (we are vegetarians). The only exception is a brand of herbal teas we buy but in this case we can find no supermarket equivalent brand.
BernardSmith wrote: ↑Tue Sep 01, 2020 1:47 pm
Can't speak so much about UK brands but here in the USA brands are typically no better than supermarkets' own labels. They are just much more expensive.
I think that's not much different here.
Our local foodbank is really quite lucky in that some local businesses donate food - potatoes, for example, but we've also had local honey and eggs, and even cheese and yoghurt. Usually, they say they can't handle fresh food. If there's a lot of something, they make it open to everybody; quite often there's a sack of potatoes outside the door...
And even if they say donate spaghetti loops - I won't!
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
The foodbanks I am familiar with in both the Bronx NY and upstate NY where I live most of the week much prefer we donate money rather than food. Sure where food would otherwise be wasted (from local farms and farmers markets etc it makes good sense to provide fresh fruit and vegetables but from folk who don't work the land donating cans and jars and packages that we have purchased means that a) they have very little control over what they have to offer AND b) the price we pay for what they get is far higher than what they would get if they used money we donated and they purchased from food wholesalers. I cannot imagine that that would be so very different in Britain.
BernardSmith wrote: ↑Tue Sep 01, 2020 5:44 pm
a) they have very little control over what they have to offer AND b) the price we pay for what they get is far higher than what they would get if they used money we donated and they purchased from food wholesalers. I cannot imagine that that would be so very different in Britain.
It would make sense, wouldn't it - but they rarely ask for money. They'll take it, if you offer... But even local businesses that are not food-related buy food to donate rather than donate money. And as I said, in general the foodbanks specifically ask not to donate fresh food. Stupid, I think.
In Germany, foodbanks really started as a means to prevent wastage rather than to feed the starving. So the food is donated mostly by supermarkets etc, and mostly fresh food close to the sell-by date. Although I think that's changed a bit over recent months.
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
Beg to differ Bernard - in Oz at least the Aussie grown branded products are markedly better than the self branded and than the imported brands - but we do pay more for them
Local food bank takes donations and cash. If donations are thin then cash is welcome.
Supermarket own brands vary from chain to chain I think. As does price. Depends on your pocket as to what you want to pay - or can afford to pay - as well as what you can do for yourself in the way of produce. Not sure I could grow tea for instance though it is grown in the UK. Could make herbal tea - well in season and once I get the herb bed going again on the older plot (giving up one allotment).
It has just occurred to me with all this talk about local food banks, we don't seem to have any in Ireland.
Certainly not down in the south west, there maybe a few in Dublin I suppose, but I can't say I've heard of them.
There are charities that feed the cities' homeless.
I don't really know why, is it because they are not needed or because we just let people in need starve?
Probably the former as Ireland is fairly generous, for instance my UK state pension is more than doubled by the Irish government to what they consider is a reasonable amount. (Rather damning for the UK )
Tony
Disclaimer: I almost certainly haven't a clue what I'm talking about.
Weedo wrote: ↑Wed Sep 02, 2020 11:01 pm
Beg to differ Bernard - in Oz at least the Aussie grown branded products are markedly better than the self branded and than the imported brands - but we do pay more for them
OK... but what makes the manufacturers' brands "better"? They use more salt, fat and sugar (SF & S) ? I suspect (but I don't know for certain) that supermarket "brands" are identical to the manufactured brands - in fact they are made at the same plants using the same ingredients and same processes with tweaks to the SF & S and then packaged using the supermarket's own packaging.
A large proportion of the price you pay for branded goods goes on advertising. I did read once how much, differs slightly with company, and of course I can't remember how much it was, but I do remember that I was shocked and decided there and then not to finance those advertising companies in future...
And it's well known that the UK has the lowest state pension in the EU, I think, or at least amongst comparable countries.
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
I'm becoming quite sufficient in home made compost on the allotments at the moment. I fear that the amount that is ready on allotment number 2 is going to go nowhere near the improvements required for the soil there. But it certainly helps on one corner that has not been improved in my time there (nor by the previous tenant from what I dug out - no-one leaves that amount of large scrap metal if doing the job properly - nor by the previous to him either). On plot number 1 the new this season compost bins are proving their worth in cooking a whole lot of late season stuff from both plots. As I'm giving up plot number 2 at the end of the season a lot of stuff which would have otherwise been on the heap there is now on number 1. Don't want to leave a large, half baked heap for someone who doesn't know what to do with such. As I'm going to put in a couple of raised beds on the plot I'm keeping all home made compost will be good.
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